Recovery efforts continue at the Pentagon on September 13, 2001. The morning of September 11th, in an attempt to frighten the American people, five members of Al-Qaida, a terrorist group of fundamentalist Muslims, hijacked American Airlines Flight 77, then deliberately impacted the Pentagon killing all 64 passengers onboard and 125 people on the ground. The impact destroyed or damaged four of the five rings in that section of the building. Firefighters fought the fire through the night. The Pentagon was the third target by four hijacked aircraft, the twin towers of the World Trade Center (WTC) were the other targets, and one unknown when the passengers brought the aircraft down in a...

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Recovery efforts continue at the Pentagon on September 13, 2001. The morning of September 11th, in an attempt to frighten the American people, five members of Al-Qaida, a terrorist group of fundamentalist Muslims, hijacked American Airlines Flight 77, then deliberately impacted the Pentagon killing all 64 passengers onboard and 125 people on the ground. The impact destroyed or damaged four of the five rings in that section of the building. Firefighters fought the fire through the night. The Pentagon was the third target by four hijacked aircraft, the twin towers of the World Trade Center (WTC) were the other targets, and one unknown when the passengers brought the aircraft down in a...

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The original finding aid described this photograph as:

[Complete] Scene Caption: Recovery efforts continue at the Pentagon on September 13, 2001. The morning of September 11th, in an attempt to frighten the American people, five members of Al-Qaida, a terrorist group of fundamentalist Muslims, hijacked American Airlines Flight 77, then deliberately impacted the Pentagon killing all 64 passengers onboard and 125 people on the ground. The impact destroyed or damaged four of the five rings in that section of the building. Firefighters fought the fire through the night. The Pentagon was the third target by four hijacked aircraft, the twin towers of the World Trade Center (WTC) were the other targets, and one unknown when the passengers brought the aircraft down in a Pennsylvania field.

Subject Operation/Series: NOBLE EAGLE

Base: Pentagon

State: District Of Columbia (DC)

Country: United States Of America (USA)

Scene Major Command Shown: DOD

Scene Camera Operator: TSGT Cedric H. Rudisill, USAF

Release Status: Released to Public
Combined Military Service Digital Photographic Files

According to the official 9/11 Commission Report, the Flight 77 was 5 miles (8.0 km) west-southwest of the Pentagon when, it made a 330-degree turn. At the end of the turn, it was descending through 2,200 feet (670 m), pointed toward the Pentagon and downtown Washington. Boeing 757-223, flying at 530 mph over the Navy Annex Building adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery, crashed into the western side of the Pentagon. The plane hit the Pentagon at the first-floor level, and at the moment of impact, the airplane was rolled slightly to the left, with the right wing elevated. The front part of the fuselage disintegrated on impact, while the mid and tail sections moved for another fraction of a second, with tail section debris penetrating furthest into the building. In all, the airplane took eight-tenths of a second to fully penetrate 310 feet (94 m) into the three outermost of the building's five rings and unleashed a fireball that rose 200 feet (61 m) above the building.

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Date

13/09/2001
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Source

The U.S. National Archives
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